Not much plot, just a bit of whump and comfort.

Danny jolted awake. He breathed deeply, reaching a hand up to rub the sleep from his eyes. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he glanced over at his alarm clock, finding it was just after midnight. He threw his covers off, determined to discover which one of his children was the culprit of the noise that had woken him. It wouldn't be the first time he'd caught one of them sneaking a late night snack or slipping into the living room to watch TV.

He strode down the hall, towards the living room, where he was sure the noise had come from. He reached for the switch on the wall next to him and flipped the light on, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. He saw movement and only had time for the brief realization that it was not Charlie or Grace before pain exploded in his chest.

The force and shock of it knocked him flat on his back. He gasped, desperate for air to refill his lungs after being so forcefully ripped out. His vision darkened, threatening what would honestly have been a welcomed state of unconsciousness. One thought, however, kept him from allowing to pulled under.

Grace. Charlie.

He knew needed to move, to do something, but he was still finding it extremely difficult to breathe, let alone get up off the floor.

"Danno?"

It took Danny a moment to register the tired and confused voice of Charlie. Danny shot up, but regretted it immediately as the pain in his chest multiplied ten-fold. He swayed violently, but forced himself to remain in the seated position, wrapping an arm around his chest in a vain attempt to support his battered ribs. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard the slam of a door.

"Danno?"

Danny nearly jumped as he realized his confused and worried looking son was suddenly right next to him.

"Char..." He couldn't even get the name out before fit of coughs racked through him. He desperately wanted to tell Charlie to go run and hide, lock himself in the bathroom, just anything to get him away from whatever danger was currently in his house.

He couldn't think straight, yet he seemed to realize whoever had hit him was not near him at the moment. The sounds of a door behind forced open made Danny realize with sickening drop of his heart where exactly the intruder was. Grace's startled shriek that followed had Danny suddenly on full alert. He wanted to get up off the floor, but his body didn't seem to be willing to listen. He was able to turn himself back towards the hallway, though, heart sinking further as the intruder forcefully pulled Grace down the hall.

Danny kept one arm protectively around his chest, but used the other to push Charlie behind him, who thankfully didn't protest. The intruder had one hand tightly wrapped around Grace's arm, and the other was holding on to what was likely the culprit of the pain in Danny's chest. A wooden bat.

"You..." Son if a bitch. Danny couldn't quite finish the sentence as his breath hitched. He finally lifted his arm away from his chest in front of him in attempt to appear non-threatening. "Let... let her go... Don't hurt her. Just let her go." Danny's voice cracked as he pleaded with the man, marginally grateful that his breathing was finally under control enough to allow him to speak.

"Back up," the man ordered.

It was then that Danny realized he was blocking the way to living room. Hoping the man would just move past him and leave was too much to ask for, but Danny obeyed anyway, not willing to risk him hurting Grace. Slowly, he carefully shifted backwards on the floor, pulling Charlie with him. He winced as his ribs protested, but continued moving until he thought the intruder looked satisfied and began to push Grace forward. Danny leaned back against the nearest thing for support, which he dimly realized was a bookshelf. He kept Charlie right next to him, arm hovering protectively in front of him.

As the man came closer, and the light from the living room revealed his face, Danny wasn't sure if he was relieved or not. Relieved that he didn't know the man, but concerned because he had no idea what he was capable of.

As soon as the grip on Grace's arm was loosened, she bolted to Danny's side. Danny relaxed now that she was next to him, but only slightly. He now had to figure out what to do and began to weigh his options.

The intruder was now pacing back and forth, wearing down the living room floor beneath his feet, apparently struggling with some sort of turmoil and panic. Danny ignored him, particularly keen on letting him be, since that meant his attention was not on him and his children. His gun was locked in his safe, so he knew that was not an option. He glanced around for a nearby weapon, but he knew even if he found one, he would never be fast enough. If he'd been by himself, it would have been one thing, but he couldn't risk one wrong move with Grace and Charlie right there.

He looked down at Charlie, who had curled himself up next to him. He was obviously scare, eyes darting back and forth, following the intruder's incessant pacing. He looked to Grace next, surprised to see she looked relatively calm.

"You okay?" Danny asked quietly.

Grace nodded and looked at him. "Uncle Steve is coming," she replied just as softly.

Danny took a moment to glance up, but seeing the intruder was paying no attention to them, he turned back to Grace, whispering. "I know you think he's a super hero, but I don't think he's coming," It pained him to say it, but he didn't want Grace to have false hope that Steve would swoop in to save the day.

"I sent him the bat signal," Grace quietly quipped.

Danny stared at her for a moment before allowing a small smile to match hers. If Grace had somehow managed to get a message to Steve before being forced from her room, then Danny could relax a bit. He had a plan now, and it was simple. Sit and wait. Knowing help was coming, it was the best option. He wanted to hug and kiss his daughter right now for her apparent quick thinking, but didn't want to draw any attention to them, let alone move his aching chest.

Danny just sat and watched as the minutes slowly ticked by. He couldn't help but wonder exactly what the man's intention was. He seemed panicked and unsure of himself as he continued to pace back and forth, hand still wrapped tightly around the bat.

As Charlie shifted next to him, Danny couldn't stop the groan from escaping his lips as his elbow inadvertently connected with his rips. The noise seemed break the intruder's thoughts, which was exactly what Danny had not wanted. He stopped pacing and turned to them.

"Look, just get out of here now, and we'll forget this ever happened." Danny figured he might as well speak now that the quiet charade was broken.

"Shut up!"

Danny had been about to continue, but closed his mouth, unwilling to agitate the man any further. He just needed to wait him out, and hopefully Steve would be here soon. A moment later, he was sure he heard a vehicle outside, and he was thankful that the intruder didn't seem to notice. He pulled Charlie and Grace closer to him, unsure of exactly what was going to happen.

The seconds slowly ticked by, and finally Danny caught movement outside the window. Relief flooded through him, knowing now for sure that it had to be Steve.

When the door burst open, Danny could feel both his children jump next to him. He tightened his arms around them, hoping to keep them calm as Steve came through the door, gun held at the ready.

"Drop it!" Steve ordered, pointing his weapon at the intruder, who was obviously startled by his sudden entrance.

The man didn't listen, instead looking around wildly for an escape route. Danny could here sirens in the distance, honestly a bit surprised that his partner had actually called for back up, even if he didn't wait for them before bursting in.

"You hear that?" Steve asked as the sirens grew louder. "You've got nowhere to go, man, so just drop the bat."

Seeing he was caught as two police officers entered the house, the intruder finally dropped the bat and raised his hands in surrender. As soon as the officers had him handcuffed and led him out the door, Danny finally allowed himself to truly relax. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, moaning at his own mistake as pain seared across his chest from the action.

"Danny?"

Steve's voice was right in front of him, but Danny didn't open his eyes just yet, allowing the pain to ebb a bit.

"What's wrong?"

"Took a bat to the chest, that's what's wrong," Danny finally grit out. He opened his eyes again and smiled as Steve's face came into focus.

Steve returned the smile before looking at Grace and Charlie. "You guys alright?"

Grace nodded, and Charlie answered by flinging himself up and launching himself into Steve for a hug.

"We're all very happy to see you," Danny explained unnecessarily. He wrapped his now free arm around his chest, wincing at the movement.

"Ambulance should be here soon," Steve informed him upon seeing the pain etched in his face.

"Jesus, buddy, you really pulled out all the stops, huh?" Danny laughed painfully. "Back-up and an ambulance?"

"I didn't know what I was coming into," Steve replied truthfully.

Danny wanted to protest the ambulance and subsequent trip to the hospital, but decided against it, if only to ease Grace's and Charlie's worry for him. He allowed the EMTs to check him over and obliged when they insisted upon a trip to the ER for x-rays.

The ambulance ride was rather lonely, but he allowed himself to relax nonetheless, knowing Steve was driving right behind them in his truck with Grace and Charlie.

Several hours and many x-rays later, Danny was released with two broken ribs and severe bruising across his chest. He sat in the passenger seat of Steve's truck, wincing every time they hit a bump in the road. The pain killers he'd been giving upon arriving at the ER were beginning to wear off, but he didn't want to take more until he got home and got Grace and Charlie settled.

It took longer than it should have for it to dawn on him that they weren't heading for his house. He should have realized it sooner, since his home was still technically a crime scene. So, when they pulled up in front of Steve's house, Danny really shouldn't have been surprised.

Steve was waiting outside the passenger door before Danny barely had a chance to get it open. He helped him slowly get out of the truck and step down to the ground before turning to help Charlie out.

Danny slowly began to make his way to the house, allowing a small smile as Charlie wormed his small hand into his. He followed Steve and Grace into the house, letting go of Charlie's hand as he made a beeline for the couch. He sat carefully, rubbing his tired eyes. As much as he wanted to sleep, he needed to talk to Steve first.

He jumped slightly as he felt a hand on his shoulder, realizing he just might have actually let himself drift off. He blinked, finding Steve in front of him, holding out his prescription pain meds and a glass of water.

"Thanks." Danny took the meds without question, washing them down with the water. He looked around the room, finding they were alone.

"Charlie and Grace are asleep," Steve explained. "They're fine. I promise."

Danny sighed. "Good. Thanks," he repeated, rubbing a hand through his hair. "The guy talk? I didn't recognize him."

Steve smiled. "Sang like a canary as soon as Chin entered the room. Apparently, he was hired to rough you up to distract us from our current case. He panicked when he realized your kids were there and didn't know what to do."

"Our current..." Danny tried recalling the current case the team had been working on. A ring of drug smuggling and they had been getting close to closing in on the suspects. "Did he tell you who hired him?"

"Like I said," Steve repeated. "He sang. They chose poorly by hiring this guy. Chin and everyone are closing in on them now."

"You're not with them," Danny observed stupidly.

"Yeah, I figured I could sit this one out." Steve walked up to Danny, holding out a hand. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Danny asked in confusion, but found himself allowing Steve to help him up, despite his unanswered question.

Steve led him up the stairs, towards his own bedroom. Danny protested as he realized what Steve had intended.

"I'm fine on the couch," Danny insisted, knowing Grace and Charlie were probably in each of Steve's two spare bedrooms.

"You'll be more comfortable here, and I can survive on the couch for a night. What's left of it anyways. Trust me, you'll thank me later."

Danny wanted to protest again, but the bed looked oddly inviting. The long night was beginning to catch up to him, and the pain meds were starting to work their magic. He obediently crawled into Steve's big bed, finding himself oddly compliant as his partner all but tucked him in.

"Thanks, Steve," Danny repeated for what he felt like was the hundredth time that night. "For coming. I'm not sure what would have happened if you hadn't."

"You need to thank Grace for that one. She's the one who called me."

Danny sighed before he started to giggle.

"What?" Steve asked curiously.

"She said she sent you the bat signal," Danny explained as he continued to giggle. "Just picturing you dressed up as Batman."

Steve smiled. "Glad to see the pain meds are working."

"Mm hmm," Danny agreed as he closed his eyes, smile still lingering on his face.

"Night, Danno," Steve said as he patted Danny's shoulder and got up to leave the room, chuckling as he heard Danny's soft reply.

"Night, Batman."